Lost on Them
by bookgirl1020
Summary: Percy and Annabeth can be quite oblivious to each other sometimes. Follow your favorite adventurers as they grow up... and, inexplicably, cause a lot of misunderstandings between each other. / cover art by burdge
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hey there! This is my first story, so no hate, please. Constructive criticism is welcome. If you like it, please leave a review! I may do more chapters based on the rest of the books in the series if it's requested. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of the characters or original plot lines formulated by Rick Riordan in his books. **

Percy has always the worst at first impressions.

So, when he passes out as soon as he meets one of the few girls who has acknowledged his presence, he's not surprised. He is, however, positively flabbergasted when the first words she ever speaks to him whilst he is conscious are, "You drool in your sleep."

He slayed the Minotaur, and here's this girl judging him because he happens to sleep with his mouth open. He hasn't even formally introduced himself, nor has she.

They _are_ formally introduced to each other by Chiron following the remark about Percy's nighttime saliva habits. _Annabeth, _her name is.

And then, of course, his luck made things happen as they had to: she was his little chaperone, she was to show him around the camp and explain this new and possibly fatal world to him. Go figure.

She's a little coarse with him, but seems to be good friends with Grover. When he says something to Grover about it, he is quick to defend her.

"She's had a hard life, Percy," he says, choosing his words carefully, as if to protect her privacy. Percy sort of understands. His family has always been poor, so his childhood would not be one considered "easy," especially after the entrance of "Smelly Gabe." He's not sure what exactly Annabeth's deal is, but he's a little softer towards her now.

Then, as the Fates would have it, he is of course sent on a quest, which could determine the fate of the world. He is asked to choose two people to go on this quest with him, and so far he has only three friends at the camp. Grover, of course, is his first choice, and, at her prodding, Annabeth is the second.

Not that he minds, of course. He and Annabeth are just acquaintances, and having some brains around certainly can't hurt.

The third friend, Luke, gives them the flying shoes as a sort of compensation for not being able to come on the quest, which Percy prays will help them at least some on this quest. At age twelve, Percy thinks of himself as a conglomeration of wet noodles, if he's being honest, so he hopes the shoes will get him and his friends out of a situation fast, because every last one of the gods knows that his scrawny legs won't be able to get the job done.

And then, they're off. Three juveniles desperately trying to save the world in a very brief window of time, their prospects aren't great. But Annabeth looks ready to face down Kronos himself, and Grover has collected whatever small amount of courage he can muster and packed it so tightly together that it has created an armor, which he uses when he is scared, making him braver than Percy's ever seen before.

So, no, Percy can't give up. It's no longer a question of just him, just making it home to his mom. It's now a matter of getting Annabeth and Grover home, too. And, of course, there is still an entire world to save.

And so the journey continues. There are plenty of mishaps along the way, of course, because, as Percy has quickly discovered, bad luck follows demigods everywhere.

But, there is one bout of good luck: the Kindness International truck.

Alright, so, no, no one was pleased with the rather unethical treatment the animals were receiving. But, after a little prompting, Percy finally gets a glimpse inside Annabeth's supposed "hard life." He can now see why she's so coarse.

See, Percy's been poor, and he's had a somewhat abusive stepfather, but he certainly hasn't been entirely devoid of love from an adult. Annabeth's father and stepmother both made it very clear that they would be better off without her, and she ran.

Percy can't imagine the agony that must have accompanied Annabeth's escape, or the fear that must have had a tight grip around her heart for the days leading up to Luke and Thalia finding her.

He's thrilled to find all of this out, though. Not because he wants his new friend in pain, but because she is now officially his friend- she has to be. No one spills their life story and then goes back to acquaintances, ever. So now, Percy has _another_ absolutely official friend. He's thrilled.

See, with his darting between schools for behavior problems all the time, he's rarely had time to make any friends, and, when he does, they usually are only kind to him out of pity. So, making this new friend all on his own is a huge achievement.

Of course, he appreciates Luke and Grover. But, both times, they became his friend out of obligation: Luke, being his temporary cabin counselor, and Grover as his protector. So Annabeth is his first _true_ friend, the first one he made all on his own.

He's very proud, especially when she even seems to take his advice about her father to heart.

The flying shoes malfunctioning come as quite a surprise, and when they go over into the edge of the dreaded pit, Percy feels a tugging feeling of dread. He chalks it up to being worried about escaping on his chicken legs somehow, but in his head, thoughts fly around wildly. The shoes went straight for the pit. There were certainly more courses the shoes could've accidentally taken, but they headed straight for the pit, almost as if by magnetic pull, even when the whole trio tried to hold them back.

And then, it makes sense. Sitting there, with Luke, in the woods, it makes sense, but as soon as Percy realizes what has happened, Luke is gone and there is a giant, highly poisonous scorpion on his hand.

Go figure.

The scorpion of course goes in for the kill, and despite's Luke's words about the certainty of his death, Annabeth and Chiron manage to nurse him back to health again. Seeing the sadness and genuine concern in Annabeth's eyes when she is informed of Luke's betrayal makes Percy hurt for her, but he does not say this aloud.

And then, a grand finale to the thrill ride he's had the past few weeks: he's offered the chance to go home. He isn't sure about leaving Annabeth behind, since she usually stays at camp all year, and- wait.

She actually took his advice. And there's her family, standing at the crest of Half-Blood Hill, waiting for her to walk up the slope and finally join the family she left so many years ago.

He's happy to see her smile at him, and happy to see her walk up the hill. He's happy to know that his little piece of advice could've potentially turned around her entire relationship with her father.

He's so happy and relieved for his new friend that he thinks, what the heck. He can go home, can't he? He withstood all of this; surely he can make it through the school year back home.

He ponders this for a few moments, and reminisces about his quest: the danger that seemed to shroud him wherever he went, the desperate looks on the faces of the souls in the Fields of Asphodel, the screams of terror when the bus went up in flames.

But then he remembers the good: Annabeth and Grover taking care to make sure no mortals were hurt wherever they went, the looks of determination on both of their faces, their bravery. And he knows, without a doubt, that he can leave camp.

If Grover can protect the most powerful demigods even with all of his insecurities, if Annabeth can have the courage to hold her own ground all these years because of her father and still be able to forgive him, then Percy can go home. He can face this world… although he might need some help along the way.

_(She doesn't know how much she's already influenced him, inspired him. No, it's lost on her.)_

_(He doesn't know how much having someone other than Chiron and the two survivors of the ordeal that is her life care about her story and her well-being has already helped her. No, it's lost on him.)_

**AN: There you have it! Leave a review with your thoughts if you can. :)**

**-bookgirl1020**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I apologize over how long it has taken for this chapter to be put up… I will try my hardest to have chapter three up by next Tuesday. Thank you all so much for your kind reviews, follows, and favorites. If you haven't yet, please leave a review and let me know what you think! **

Annabeth is pretty great at first impressions. So, when her first glimpse of Percy since they saw each other last summer happens while she's saving his butt from a bunch of giants, she's not at all surprised.

She is, however, shocked upon meeting Percy's companion. A Cyclops. Named Tyson. Great.

It's been years since Thalia was turned into a tree, years since that Cyclops delayed them just long enough to cause a disaster. She should be over it; after all, _nothing _scares Annabeth Chase. Ever. But every time she thinks she can move past her phobia, she remembers just how precisely Thalia and Luke's voices were mocked, and she gets that sick feeling all over again.

She doesn't _mean_ to be harsh to Percy, but she doesn't want the Cyclops around. She doesn't want to think about Thalia, and she most _certainly_ does not want to think about Luke. They're both as good as dead, and it won't do her any good to dwell on just how _alone_ she is.

The camp is in terrible condition. Chiron's gone, and the monster attacks are constant. It doesn't take long before Percy notices and thinks he has to do something.

He gets more and more agitated with Clarisse, especially when she is given a quest by Tantalus, who Percy didn't trust from the beginning, so Annabeth is not surprised in the slightest when he tells her they have to save the camp.

Despite the risk (and her slight annoyance with him over the whole Cyclops situation), Annabeth agrees to sneaking off with Percy immediately. Clarisse is not going to cut it on this quest; they need to save Grover, not just get the Golden Fleece. Annabeth knows Clarisse won't waste any time saving her friend, which is why she doesn't even hesitate to tell Percy she'll go. _She'll go. _

Questing isn't easy. She wants to pretend that she's a highly seasoned hero, but she's only been on one official quest, and she knows that the risks are likely higher now that Luke and many other demigods were changing their allegiance.

She's absolutely dumbfounded on the _Princess Andromeda._ Thank the gods she was able to recover her wits in time for everyone to escape, but she can't shake the feeling of despair seeing Luke the way he was gave her. She feels utterly alone again.

Well, she does until Percy tries to console her. She admits to herself that she's at least a little glad that he's here. Sometimes she wants to punch him square in the face, but at least she has something of a friend with her. It almost helps the Cyclops situation. She is slowly trusting Tyson more and more, but she still doesn't want to warm up to him too much. _Don't let your guard down, Annabeth. Remember last time. _

After Clarisse's rescue, they finally enter the Sea of Monsters, but the encounter with Scylla and Charybdis proves dangerous. The ship descends into chaos as Percy is snatched away, and the ship explodes.

White stars plague her vision as the ship goes up in flames. She treads water as best she can, until she runs into a rescue raft that has floated from the ship. Where is everyone? Then she sees him.

He can breathe water; she knows that. But seeing his black hair fanned out in the water, face down, she panics. _Not again, please, please, not again. I can't lose anyone else. Please._

After she's yanked him out of the water, she pauses for a moment, reflecting on her situation. Clarisse is gone, which hurts. She may have been mean sometimes, but she had spent many winters with Annabeth at camp, as the only other girl there.

And then… Tyson. Annabeth's heart ached thinking of how cruel she'd been. She should've given him a chance. He was clearly not the Cyclops that led to Thalia's demise so long ago.

And, finally, Percy. Annabeth sits back on her feet, staring at the sky above her as the raft floats lazily in the water. She'd startled herself, getting so upset over him being in the water. Obviously, she should be concerned, but panicking like she did? No.

She decided to push away all thoughts correlated with that. _Don't let your guard down, Annabeth. Don't. Not for anyone. Not even… not even him._

A rush of relief hits her when Percy wakes, and she's glad to have some sort of company. Sitting there with nothing but her own thoughts of guilt was eating her alive.

Of course, the relief doesn't last long. No luck lasts long for a demigod.

When they wash up on the island, with the title of "C.C.'s Spa and Resort," Annabeth is suspicious. Monsters are known for using pseudonyms to access demigods a bit more easily- who could forget Aunty Em?-but the island seems to be safe enough, even though it is most certainly magical.

She's a little suspicious as she's whisked away to be made over, but, against her better judgment, she lets the girls working for C.C. tug away at her hair and put make-up on her face. And when they turn her around to finally see herself in a mirror, she gasps.

As a half-blood, she certainly has not had time to worry about typical teenage girl things. She won't deny that she's looked at herself in the mirror before and sighed a little. She never feels pretty, with all her scrapes and bruises and unruly hair, but she doesn't dwell on it too much. Other than the occasional snide remark from one of the less friendly Aphrodite girls, her battle skills and intelligence are enough to impress everyone else.

However, she can't help the euphoria she feels looking at herself in the mirror. She's not pretty. She's… beautiful. Whatever C.C.'s girls use, it really works.

She tries not to act like she's excited, but the girls who made her up have noticed and laugh along with her. A girl who introduced herself as Reyna smiles and tells her she looks amazing. Annabeth's heart soars for the first time since the quest began.

As usual, things quickly go bad after that. Percy's a guinea pig and she's on her own. She's capable (_obviously_), but it doesn't mean she likes doing things all by herself. She takes the situation into her hands, though, and remembers the multivitamins she salvaged from the wreck, the one's given to Percy by Hermes, and she uses them to arm herself against C.C.'s (who is Circe! _Circe!_ The ancient Greek sorceress! She can hardly believe it)magic, and then pours the rest into the guinea pig cage, and Percy grows back into human form… along with a bunch of pirates.

The duo makes their getaway, but Annabeth can't help but feeling sorry for Circe's helpers, especially Reyna. As they speed away, Annabeth hopes the girls will be safe.

No time to think about that, though. _Don't let your guard down._

Annabeth decides she wants to hear the Sirens. She's been uncertain of many things recently, and she thinks the Sirens' song will help her understand herself, and maybe her situation, a little more. Of course, many things are easier in theory than practice.

She wants to resist the song. She wants to pretend that's she's strong enough to resist, but the second the first note hits her ears, she's hooked. Visions swirl in front of her, of her mother, her father, and Luke. They're having a picnic, and the city around them is all designed by her. She thinks it's beautiful, marvels at the beautiful architecture. It's so much better than what New York City looks like now.

Her mother loves her. Her mother is proud of her. Her mother did not leave her with her father, did not leave her to suffer with her stepfamily. Her father raised her with love, but her needs in front of that of his wife and new children. Luke is there, he hasn't betrayed her, he's still her older brother. She even sees glimpses of Thalia, laughing, alive, _not a tree. _There's Grover! And her friend Silena, from the Aphrodite cabin! And…And there's one vision, there for only a moment, a flash, but it startles her more than she'd care to admit: Percy.

Her brain is screaming that it's all fake, but her heart wants it. She fights and pulls at the ropes she and Percy tied around her, and sobs and shrieks at him and begs him to let her go, _let her go. _He won't even look at her. Why was he ever in that vision? What kind of friend would keep her from this?

And then, her fingers touch something cool and metallic. _Her knife._ She yanks it from the sheath and cuts the rope, and then she's dashing towards the edge, and jumping, and the water closes around her, and she needs to get breath, but she needs this perfect world more, she needs it. She needs it, she needs it, _she needs it._

A flash of black and green cuts into her peripheral vision. Anger rips through her. _Percy._ Who does he think he is? He wraps his arms around her waist, pulling away from the world she wants so badly, tearing her away from what she cares about so much. She fights and kicks and pulls and screams, but finally, with as little air as she has, she stops, and a bubble forms around her.

The dream is over. The colors around her stop shimmering tantalizingly. She looks around the small bubble Percy encased the two of them in, and everything is a bit too focused all of a sudden, and the reality of the situation, the pain, crashes down on her. _That world is gone. Forever. _

She starts to cry, letting loose everything that's been stored up inside of her since Luke betrayed her. He promised. Thalia promised. Her father promised. The Sirens promised. Promise after promise of good things, all broken. And, to top it off, she now knows her fatal flaw: hubris. It's common among Athena children, but she had always hoped that she could hold herself above the terrible lure of pride. Apparently not.

Percy hugs her, and she would think it was awkward, and probably blush a little, if the situation weren't so heartbreaking. He still has the wax in his ears that kept him from going to the Sirens, so she knows he can't hear her, but she whispers to him anyway.

_Thank you. _

And then, finally, they've made it to Polyphemus's island. She knows rescuing Grover won't be easy with just her and Percy, but- wait, is that Clarisse?

Clarisse and Tyson somehow survived the explosion on their own. Annabeth is more relieved than she's ever been before, ready to try to warm up to Tyson. There's a bigger task at hand right now, though.

Using wit, Percy and Annabeth manage to get in to Polyphemus's cave, but she stops feeling proud of getting in when the Cyclops drops her on a rock and stars explode in her vision. Everything is black.

When she finally wakes, the golden fabric draped over her body nearly blinds her. _  
>The fleece.<em> Above her, Percy is praying fervently, although she can't figure out what about, until she hears him whisper her name.

_Woah. _Her chest flutters a little, in a somewhat pleasant way. She quickly reverts back to her old self, though, managing to ask about Grover's marital status.

Escaping the island is a little hazy, but she does remember a few words being clearly spoken by Percy: "You're a genius."

Luke kidnaps them again, and Annabeth wants to be surprised, but she's not, really. She knew he'd still be cruel, no matter what happened on this quest, and his terrible demeanor is proof that the right thing for Annabeth to do was just accept it.

So she does.

She's fine with him being revealed as the true criminal, the one who poisoned Thalia's tree. As much as it sickens her, she wants him in trouble He left her, and by default, left Thalia. He deserves this.

She's outnumbered hopelessly this time, even with Percy, Clarisse, Grover, and Tyson, so she can't fight her way out on her own. The Party Ponies take care of the demigods this time, though, and she's relieved.

Back at camp, things seem normal. Chiron's back, what with Luke being exposed as the criminal rather than him.

Yes, everything's normal. A bit too quiet, Annabeth thinks, but she decides to let it go. _Let your luck last while it can. _

And then, it happens. Thalia's back. Her older sister, the one who loved her more than her own father, the one who held her when she had nightmares, who made everything better. Thalia played the mother role at just twelve years old, and here she is, looking just like she did the night she was turned into the tree.

It isn't long before Percy races up the hill and finds them, as the rest of the camp already has. He calls out for medical help, and Annabeth reminds herself to thank him later. She's sure she couldn't get a single word out right now without crying.

She knows it's coming; she knows she will have to hear Thalia speak for the first time, for the rest of the camp to react, and she's a little nervous. She doesn't want Thalia leaving her as well.

Percy asks the question. _At least it was him, _she thinks. _Maybe I'm not entirely alone._

"I am Thalia Grace, Daughter of Zeus."

_(He'll never know how much she relied on him during this quest, how much he's begun to mean to her. No, it's lost on him.)_

_(She'll never know how many times he's looked up to her, thought of her as his inspiration, his goal as a hero, or how many times he's been grateful to have a real friend. No, it's lost on her.)_

**AN: There you go! Hope you liked. Leave a review if you can! -bookgirl1020 :)**


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